‘Cyber hygiene’
YooperCon teaches high schoolers the cyber basics
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MARQUETTE -- They didn't learn how to be criminals, but the high schoolers who took part in YooperCon on Thursday learned how criminals act -- an important way to thwart nefarious online activity.
The annual event, spearheaded by the Upper Peninsula Cyber Institute on the Northern Michigan University campus, took place in the Northern Center at NMU with the help of other officials and companies.
Chris Standerford, director of NMU's Seaborg Mathematics and Science Center and regional director of 906-Central Mi-STEM, said YooperCon is an annual celebration of cybersecurity and other computer-related topics such as hacking. About 275 students from across the U.P. attended Thursday's event.
"We've got lots of cool stuff happening," Standerford said, with one of those scheduled activities being the Michigan State Police stopping by with its cyber dog.
Sessions revolved around subjects such as cyber auto, password cracking, social media/open source intel, Python programming, Security Operations Center analysts, lock picking and cryptology/Enigma machine as well as the games Capture the Flag and Cyber Jeopardy.
During Cyber Jeopardy, for instance, topics included "Follow the Money" and "Under Attack," complete with the "Jeopardy!" theme song. However, students also learned that anyone can fall prey to cyber attacks -- something that they should convey to their friends. In fact, adults could learn to be wary of certain online tactics, such as knowing when an ad begins in the middle of an article.
Standerford stressed it's important to understand the origin of cyber risks and where and where not to click.
"People engineer things pretty creatively, and it can make that difficult to know what's authentic and what's risky," he said.
Doug Miller, director of the Upper Peninsula Cybersecurity Institute, also was on hand at YooperCon.
The event had several purposes, he said.
"We want to make sure that they know that there's a real need for cybersecurity professionals in the workforce and that those opportunities are there for folks here in the U.P. as well, either remotely or moving downstate," Miller said. "So, they can stay here and be a cybersecurity professional."
Knowledge of the field doesn't end with management, he noted.
"Every worker needs to be cyber aware," Miller said. "We can have all the cybersecurity professionals in the world, but if the rest of the workforce isn't cyber aware and understanding what they're doing and how that can impact things, then it doesn't matter how much the cyber professionals are doing."
That concept came into play at YooperCon.
"We're exposing kids to potential careers and opening up their eyes and talking to them a little bit about that, but then we're also just covering the basic 'cyber hygiene' -- how do you stay safe online?" Miller said.
Rain Sharp, a student in the Burt Township School District, played Cyber Jeopardy and even got the Final Jeopardy answer correct.
She said it's important to learn cybersecurity basics.
"If you don't, you might become at risk, get hacked, cyberbullied and a lot of other stuff," Sharp said.